Gamman & Grange reminds us that 12-31-12 is the deadline to request reinstatement of exempt status. This is a concern for NPOs that had their exempt status revoked because they went three years without filing a 990-N, which is the on-line ‘postcard’ notice to the IRS.
Their newsletter is here.
The key comment from the newsletter.
Specifically, a tax-exempt organization with “normally” not more than $50,000 in gross annual receipts in its most recent fiscal year that applies for reinstatement will automatically be treated as having established “reasonable cause” for failing to file in fiscal years 2007 through 2009 so long as the organization: (1) was not required to file IRS Form 990 before 2007, (2) was eligible to file a Form 990-N e-Postcard in the years it failed to file, and (3) submits an application for reinstatement of tax-exempt status (containing a specifically worded declaration) to the IRS before December 31, 2012.
If your exempt status was revoked, you have a few more months to go the reinstatement route. Otherwise, you will need to start from scratch by filing a new 1023 application. If you go that route, your NPO will actually be a for-profit entity starting back at the date of revocation.
If you go this route, I suggest you get professional assistance. Unless that segment I quoted from the Gammon & Grange newsletter made perfect sense, you really need professional assistance.